Top Students Choose UC San Diego

Students from more than 90 countries and regions around the world attend UC San Diego. They bring a variety of experiences and backgrounds to become an integral part of our campus community.

UC San Diego’s academic excellence is built on the strength of our faculty and their groundbreaking research discoveries. Currently, 6 Nobel Laureates teach and conduct research; there are 17 in UC San Diego’s 50-year history.

This impressive roster of intellects also teaches hundreds of interdisciplinary courses offered to undergraduates at UC San Diego.

Students at UC San Diego enjoy a safe campus of 485 hectares (1,200 acres) of flowers, lush grass and old-growth trees alongside the Pacific Ocean.

San Diego music, museums, shopping, dining and entertainment are just a short bus ride away from campus. The beach is even closer!

130,000 alumni are changing the world and being compensated handsomely for it. Our alumni, faculty and staff have started more than 600 companies, including successful pioneers in biotechnology.

The most accomplished students from the US and 90 other nations/ regions challenge and explore across traditional boundaries of academics.

UC San Diego undergraduates do more than just research in the lab or the field. They publish papers. They present at national and international conferences. They hold patents!

When Bill Atkinson (’74 Chemistry, co-developer of the Macintosh computer) was asked to explain the value of his UC San Diego degree, he responded with one word: “Research.”

Our Unique College System

Unlike other universities in the US, your college is not determined by your major. Instead, it’s about the college philosophy and your own personality.

Our six-college system was modeled after the centuries-old arrangement at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the UK. You will room, dine, socialize and study with students from every major within your chosen college; and take classes with students from every college campus. You’ll have access to all of the powerful resources of this large research university with additional support services from your college.

When you fill out your UC application for admission, you’re asked to rank the colleges in order of preference.